cannabisnews.com: Feds Back Down in Medical Pot Case





Feds Back Down in Medical Pot Case
Posted by CN Staff on August 27, 2004 at 07:04:10 PT
By Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News
Source: Rocky Mountain News 
An Aurora man suffering from chronic pain won a major victory Thursday when the federal government agreed to return all of his marijuana-growing equipment.The assistant U.S. attorney also told the lawyer for medical-marijuana user Dana May that they will not prosecute May for any crime. But the pot that the Drug Enforcement Administration and Aurora police seized from May's Aurora home will stay in the possession of federal authorities.
Supporters of medical marijuana said they believe it marks the first time that the U.S. attorney has agreed to return growing equipment to someone who has been cleared of wrongdoing."This case is precedent-setting and a very sympathetic case and just a terrible example of the federal government not recognizing that this is where the state of the law is going and where patients are going," Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said.May and his lawyer, Robert J. Corry Jr., will appear at a hearing this morning in Arapahoe County District Court where they will tell the judge that they will drop their civil lawsuit against the Aurora Police Department demanding that it return May's marijuana-producing equipment.May, 45, said he had feared a long, drawn-out fight with the U.S. attorney's office and the DEA."I just about fell off my chair when my lawyer told me," he said. "I thought he was joking. He said, 'We got a victory here,' and 'They're going to give you your stuff back.' "After today's hearing, May said he plans to notify the DEA that he will pick up his equipment within 48 hours. Agents had confiscated 31 pieces of equipment from May's home, including transformers, water pumps, cloning machines and exhaust fans that he used to grow marijuana.He called it a bittersweet victory and complained that anti-drug personnel should spend their resources and time pursuing cocaine and heroin traffickers. "They would be better off going that route rather than going after little pot growers like me," May said.May said he will try to resume growing marijuana as soon as possible at an undisclosed location."I think this is a big step because with the DEA giving my equipment back they know what I'm going to do with it, and it's like they're condoning it," he said. "There aren't any options about what I'm going to do with it. I'm not going to grow tomatoes."Jeffrey Dorschner, spokesman for the District of Colorado U.S. attorney, said federal prosecutors decided not to pursue a civil forfeiture case against May after concluding that his equipment had minimal value.May's doctor signed the legal forms required for May to grow and smoke pot in 2002. May suffers from chronic pain in his legs and feet as a result of a 1995 accident.Note: Marijuana-growing supplies to be given back to Aurora man.Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)Author: Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain NewsPublished: August 27, 2004Copyright: 2004 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters denver-rmn.com Website: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmAiling Auroran Sues for Seized Pot's Returnhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19396.shtmlAiling Man To Feds: Give Back My Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19269.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by Sam Adams on August 27, 2004 at 10:58:33 PT
Cleared of Wrongdoing?
No, he wasn't "cleared" of anything at all - they didn't find out that someone else grew the cannabis! He freely admitted it all along. What changed is that the raid and assault by the government was correctly identified as wrong by judges, and they were forced to return his equipment. But we won't have any justice in this country until the political class is punished when it commits crimes, as everyone else is.If I took 10 friends and broke into my neighbors house, handcuffed him, and stole thousands of dollars worth property, I'd be arrested and go to jail.That's the difference between the law enforcement culture here and in Europe - in Europe, the laws are based on the idea that LEO's must obey the same laws as everyone else.
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Comment #8 posted by darwin on August 27, 2004 at 10:56:11 PT
Good cartoon, fitting too.
http://featurepage.creators.com/washpost.html?name=bmp
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Comment #7 posted by BigDawg on August 27, 2004 at 10:18:18 PT
"decided not to pursue a civil forfeiture"
... because the dollar value was too low.Of course... returning the equipment had NOTHING to do with the man being innocent of a crime.Guilt has no relation to your property being forfeited... only how much said property is worth has any bearing.
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Comment #6 posted by siege on August 27, 2004 at 09:16:57 PT
               doing our jobs
[ D E A ] We're just doing our jobs.' I say, 'That's bullshit. That's what they said in Germany during the war! Is that what U S of A fought Hitler for, so you U S of A police could persecute us the way Hitler's Nazis persecuted Jews, and then hide behind (your job) as an excuse?'"Agents had confiscated 31 pieces of Hydroponic from May's home, including transformers, water pumps, cloning machine's and exhaust fans that he used to grow marijuana Jeffrey Dorschner, spokesman for the District of Colorado U.S. attorney, said federal prosecutors decided not to pursue a civil forfeiture case against May after concluding that his equipment had [ minimal value.] ahsoo 31 pieces of Hydroponic equipment HA HA HA big dollars 
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Comment #5 posted by dongenero on August 27, 2004 at 08:23:53 PT
police scam
They probably gave the weed to the Feds anyway. Then they can say you'll have to go to the Feds. Then the Feds say it's against Federal law and they refuse to return it. That gets the locals off the hook even tough they are in collusion.Typical mode of operation for harrassing medical users despite the will of the people.No wonder there is growing contempt for the police.
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Comment #4 posted by Virgil on August 27, 2004 at 08:23:26 PT
Rescheduling is a joke
It is obvious that cannabis is no schedule 1 substance, much less the 60 individual cannabinoids. Sending it off to be studied is absurd, unless it involves the Schedule 4 or Schecule 5 debate. It is a dog and pony show about like Congress approving drug importation with the approval of the FDA. It is all a giant act. The machinery for prohibition is all in place and people are being distracted by watching the different wheels go round and round.Has anyone ever heard anyone in government stand up and defend the three criteria needed for schedule 1 classification for laughing grass. No. And you won't because it cannot be done on intellectual level or with a straight face. Good grief. Can't someone say that we are being lied to about the classification instead of dancing around with the fraudsters that are playing the music?
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Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on August 27, 2004 at 08:13:58 PT
Maybe rescheduling is a possibility?
Maybe there will be more backing down to come...
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on August 27, 2004 at 07:31:11 PT
a small step for man
a huge step for freedom. I hope.It's wonderful that Mr. May is recovering his property from the tyrants.
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on August 27, 2004 at 07:19:58 PT
Arrest the CIA, he says
He called it a bittersweet victory and complained that anti-drug personnel should spend their resources and time pursuing cocaine and heroin traffickers.Yes, someone should do something about our terrorism agency and it is good to see him lay a whooping on the CIA.Now, what right do they have to keep the ganja? They don't and it shows that law has as much to do with things as what is right, which is nothing to do with it.
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